Va. court briefs: Sage Diner shooting; abduction, kidnapping

Apr. 28, 2014

Written by

Nancy Drury Duncan

Staff Writer

EASTVILLE — A motion for bail was denied for a man charged with two counts of malicious shooting and two counts of using a firearm.

Darnell Sears, 23, of Onley stands charged with shooting two brothers with a rifle in the parking lot of the Exmore Sage Diner.

Defense attorney Paul Watson said Sears lived with his aunt and his grandmother and was not a flight risk.

He said Sears’ girlfriend was expecting a baby and that his client has a possibility of a job with a tree-cutting service if released.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Bruce Jones countered by telling the court that Sears has two instances of failure to appear in court on his record and a recent conviction of destruction of property.

“You have been out of work since last June,” said Judge W. Revell Lewis III. He said also that Sears did not tell the truth when he said the destruction of property case was “thrown out.”

“You were found guilty and sentenced to jail time, and that was just two weeks ago. Your motion for bail is denied.”

Bond denied

Bail was denied also for Keyon Cherry, 28, of Exmore, who was charged with abduction and strangulation in an event that transpired at his girlfriend’s house, where he was living.

Defense attorney Theresa Bliss described the incident as a “fairly convoluted situation.”

“The kidnapping involved three men, including Cherry, carrying another man out of the house. The strangulation occurred when one of the men held his arm around the neck of the victim,” she said.

Bliss said Cherry was carrying the man’s legs.

She told the court that one of Cherry’s co-defendants was released on bond.

“He is on probation now,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Bruce Jones. He said Cherry was one of the men involved in a mob attack at the Sage Diner a few years ago but was convicted of only a misdemeanor in that case.

He said he was on probation for a drug offense when the abduction incident occurred. After hearing from both sides, Judge W. Revell Lewis III denied his motion for bail.

12 months in jail

A man who was involved with a shooting death and a beating that took place at a party will spend 12 months in jail.

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John Logan, 28, of Cincinnati entered into a plea agreement with the commonwealth. He was convicted of unlawful wounding. His involvement in the incident did not occur until the victim, Jesse Jordan, had been fatally shot.

The incident occurred at a party near Machipongo last spring. Deleon Fitchett and Durrell Fitchett, along with half brother Devon Blake and Logan, a cousin, all residents of Tasley, were all at a party in a garage on the east side of U.S. Route 13 near Machipongo, said Commonwealth’s Attorney Bruce Jones at the trial.

There was a disc jockey and a lot of liquor, he said. A large crowd was there. Trouble began in the early morning hours of April 13. Shots were fired, the bay doors were opened and people ran outside.

The victim, disc jockey and four co-defendants remained inside, Jones said. Blake, 31, was having a conversation with DJ Demetrius Myrick, when Deleon, 31, and Durrell, 30 approached, thinking there might be a problem there.

The victim, Jesse Jordan, also got into the mix. Words were exchanged and Jordan head-butted Blake. Deleon Fitchett punched Jordan in the head. He fell to the ground.

At that same moment, the lights went out, a gunshot was heard. Unaware that Jordan had been shot, Logan was one of four men who kicked Jordan while he was on the ground.

The victim was “highly intoxicated” Jones told the court. His blood alcohol level was found to be .26, more than three times the legal limit, he said.

“The case against this defendant was the weakest of the four,” said Jones “Mr. Jordan had been shot and had fallen on the ground before Logan became involved.” He said the victim’s bullet wound to the heart was fatal.